Bare Knuckles and Smooth Steps
by TheSkeletonsBride
Summary: Skulduggery is teaching Valkyrie new fighting techniques and strategies, and also a little dancing... [a few Valduggery drabbles, enjoy!] ONGOING
1. Distractions

Beads of sweat dripped down Valkyrie's forehead as she hit the firm punching bag with her bare knuckles. Once, twice, her balled fists hit the leather material with a thud. Meanwhile, Skulduggery was reading a stack of papers in the room next door, leafing through them carefully and reading them with his head tilted at such an angle that revealed a hint of nostalgia.

Skulduggery's non-existent eyes skittered across the words on the page he was holding to the rhythm of Valkyrie's punches. As he read the faded words, VaLkyrie's timing grew faster, and her punches became harder. She focused on the bag, and only the bag. Meanwhile, Skulduggery was having a hard time just trying to read the letter. Valkyrie working out in the room next to him was distracting him, averting his attention from the letter to her smooth torso and her strong arms.

Skulduggery sighed as he put down the letter, finally giving up on trying to read it, and instead waltzed into the Sanctuary's gym. He stood there for a while, leaning against the doorway, gazing at Valkyrie's sharp moves and quick strikes. When he couldn't stand it any longer, Skulduggery knocked loudly on the door, so Valkyrie could hear him over the music from her earphones. Valkyrie's head turned at the sound of bones against wood, and pulled out her earphones to grin at Skulduggery.

"How's the case going? get anything from the letters?" she said.

"I have to admit, I'm afraid not. I've been quite distracted lately." he replied.

"Hm? Distracted? That's not like you, Skul." she turned back to the punching bag, but left her earphones dangling.

"I know, but I also know the perfect way to fix it. Do you want to know what that is?"

Valkyrie's laugh sounded like music to Skulduggery, "Sure, why not. Go ahead and tell me,"

"A little dancing can solve anything"


	2. The Lessons Begin

Valkyrie paused and tilted her head, still with her back to Skulduggery.

"Did you say...Dancing?" she asked.

"I did indeed." he replied.

She looked at him over her shoulder. "What, you mean like, nightclub dancing?"

"No, you moron. I mean ballroom dancing."

Valkyrie turned so she was facing him fully now, head tilted and hands on hips.

"You're gonna teach me how to dance? Hah! I'd like to see you try! Skul, you know I have two left feet!"

"Oh come on, Valkyrie. I have faith. And I need a distraction."

"Hm. Oh well, I guess i need one too. I've been doing nothing but work out for the past few days."

"Oh? Why the sudden need to exercise?"

She mumbled something about summer coming and having a bikini body, but Skulduggery waved her words away with a wave of his hand. He held her left hand in his right, and put her right arm on his shoulder, while placing his left hand around her waist.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?"

"I need a distraction, and you need to learn how to dance"

Valkyrie scoffed, "Hey, who said I needed to know how to dance?"

Skulduggery leaned in and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Honestly," he said softly in her ear, "I would love to be able to dance with you, Valkyrie Cain."

He knew he had convinced her then, as she became silent for a few seconds, at a loss of any comebacks or remarks.


	3. Hold Me Closer, Miss Cain

"Mr Pleasant, I would be delighted to be your dance parter for this evening," Valkyrie giggled.

"Why thank you, Miss Cain. I would be delighted to teach you."

Valkyrie sniggered. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Grip my hand a little tighter and hold me a little closer, Miss Cain"

Skulduggery's velvet voice rippled down Valkyrie's spine, and on instinct she squeezed his hand and curled her hand tighter around his neck. Skulduggery wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and pulled her close.

Val closed her eyes and rested her forehead on Skul's pinstriped suit jacket.

Skulduggery slowly started to hum a tune, softly at first, but growing in volume.

After a while of humming, Valkyrie recognised the tune of Me and Mrs Jones. Valkyrie sighed, remembering the first time Skulduggery had sang her that song, in one quiet night back in her home in Haggard. He had sang her softly to sleep with the sound of his velvet voice, and was now holding her in his arms, slow dancing to the wonderful tune once more. Skulduggery's smooth voice became stronger and the lyrics- clearer.

"Me and Mrs Jones- we've got a thing going on" He sang.

"We both know that it's wrong,"

Valkyrie smiled and started softly singing the words with him.

"But it's much to strong to let it cool down now."

Skulduggery buried his jaw in her hair, closing his non-existent and listened to the sound of Valkyrie's voice

"We meet every day, at the same cafè," she sang.

"Six thirty, I know, I know she'll be there" he continued.

They sang together, their voices melting into each other, while slowly swaying to the rhythm of the song.

Valkyrie remembered the night he sang this to her before she fell asleep, and the thoughts that swam through her head than night. How amazing Skulduggery's voice sounded, especially when singing, even if it was a lullaby. Valkyrie hardly ever heard him sing much at all after than night, other than a cheery tune being whistled now and then. This made Valkyrie feel warm inside, knowing that she was lucky enough to be privy to Skulduggery's singing. After thinking this, she blushed, feeling stupid for calling herself lucky. Skulduggery sensed her cheeks reddening and smirked softly, but said nothing of it, just held Valkyrie closer and continued to sing the sweets words of Michael Bublé.


	4. Lucky

Valkyrie lay on Skulduggery's sofa, reading a book, or trying at least. Her mind kept on straying to the day before, and the way they had danced in the gym, and the way Skulduggery held her, and the way he had buried his face in her hair... Valkyrie shook her head and cursed her mind, forcing herself to process the words printed on the book she was reading. But she found herself humming _Me and Mrs Jones_ to herself, and didn't realise until she had reached halfway through the song. She immediately stopped and put her hand over her eyes in frustration. _Damnit, Val. You're enjoying these dance lessons way too much_ she thought.

Skulduggery sat in the kitchen, not really knowing why he was there in the first place, since he couldn't eat in the first place. He felt a bit lost, in thought as well as real life. It was just dancing, wasn't it? It's not like they were doing anything inappropriate, although that's what it felt like. Skulduggery shook his head in confusion. Was what they were doing wrong? It was just dancing, after all. Or was it something more? Skulduggery metaphorically frowned. _Was it just dancing?_ Tides of emotion crashed within him, worried that what they were doing was wrong, but at the same time enjoying it immensely. But then the guilt hit him, and he made a decision to discontinue the lessons. He knew there was only one way this would end, he couldn't allow himself fall for Valkyrie.

"Agh, screw it." Valkyrie said as she flung her book onto the coffee table in Skulduggery's lounge, and pulled out her earphones and connected them to her phone. She put them in and closed her eyes, letting the music calm her mind. Skulduggery then walked into the room, planning to tell her that the lessons would stop, but right at the doorway, he pulled back, not really wanting to stop them. He placed his head in his hands, rethinking it all. _Why can't we just let it be? It's not hurting anyone. But Val... I mean, why the hell would she fall for a 400 year old Skeleton? You're fooling yourself, Skul. She's never going to be yours. There's no point. Don't get yourself hurt._

Skulduggery stood at the doorway, gazing at Valkyrie, tides of emotions crashing against each other, each battling for the final decision. Skulduggery sighed and began to speak, just as Valkyrie cracked open an eye and saw him standing there, looking forlorn.

"Skul? You okay?" She asked, slightly confused at what he was doing there, standing in a doorway.

"Hm? Of course, Valkyrie. Everything is fine."

Valkyrie skeptically raised an eyebrow and stood up. She sauntered over to the skeleton, tilting her head as she got closer.

"You sure, Skul?"

"Mhmm, everything is fine...Just a tad tense, is all." He mumbled slightly at the last part.

"Tense? Maybe a little dancing will fix that~" And she grabbed his gloved hand and intertwined their fingers together. Skulduggery was glad that he wasn't able to blush, or his cheeks would be red at that moment.

"Um. Valkyrie-"

"Shhh. Today, I'm teaching you."

She reached for her phone and scrolled through her songs, searching for the perfect song. Her eyes curled at the edges when she found it, and pressed the play button. Guitar strumming filled the room, and Jason Mraz began singing:

 _Do you hear me talking to you?_

 _Across the water? Across the deep, blue, ocean?_

 _Under the open sky, oh my. Baby, I'm trying._

Valkyrie smiled as she guided Skulduggery's hand around her waist, and placed her hand on his shoulder. She lifted up his other hand and held it within hers, staring brilliantly into his skull.

"Valkyrie, I-"

"Just this time, let me guide _you_ "

The tone of Valkyrie's voice banished any doubts from his mind, and he obediently obliged to her wish. Valkyrie grinned and began to sing along to the song, soothing Skulduggery's nerves instantly with her soft, sweet voice.

"Boy I hear you, in my dreams. I feel your whisper, across the sea,"

"Val-" Skulduggery started, but Valkyrie placed a finger to his teeth and continued.

"I keep you with me in my heart, you make it easier when life gets hard."

She told hold of Skulduggery's hand and began to move side to side, in time with the beat of the song.

"Lucky I'm in love with my best friend,

Lucky to have been where i have been,

lucky to be coming home again."

Skulduggery moved along with her, twirling her under his arm and pulling her close to him. He wrapped her arm around her and held her hand as they twirled along to the music.

 _Every time we say goodbye_

 _I wish we had one more kiss_

 _I'll wait for i promise you, i will_

Valkyrie sang the chorus, but was surprised to hear Skulduggery singing along with her.

"Lucky I'm in love with my best friend," He sang, his velvet voice passionately showing how much he truly meant it.


	5. Unpredictable Weather (part 1)

Valkyrie looked nervously out the window as the first few drops of rain began to fall from the large, grey clouds above. A rumble of thunder that rolled across the sky caused her to flinch away from the window and flop on the couch. She groaned at the rain as it began to pelt down harder against the roof, and grabbed a cushion to curl up against. She sighed as she brought her earphones out, preparing to drown out the sounds of the storm for however long it lasted.

She was just about to plug her earphones in when another burst of thunder made her jump and fling her phone out of her hand, landing on the carpet. The sudden drop caused the phone to accidentally begin blasting Novocaine, by Fall Out Boy, and she shrieked at the sudden loud music and fell off the couch with a loud thud.

All of the noise attracted a curious and quite concerned Skulduggery, peeking his head around the doorframe to see what all the fuss was about. He looked around the room for a few seconds before he found the source of the incredibly loud music, and a quite traumatised Valkyrie sprawled face-first on the floor. He furrowed his non-existent brows and strolled over to Valkyrie's phone, turning that horrid music off. Valkyrie jerked her head up at the sudden silence, and almost swore when she saw Skulduggery standing there.

"Good Lord Skul, I swear a cat makes more noise than you do." she said, accepting the hand that Skulduggery had offered her, and pulled herself off the ground.

"Well, people are always telling me I have the grace of a cat," Skulduggery replied.

"Really? Because I don't think I've heard anyone say that to you before." Valkyrie said skeptically.

"Now Valkyrie, you know better than to doubt me..."

Valkyrie was about to reply with a witty remark when a flash of lightning illuminated Skulduggery's living room. Valkyrie shrieked and jumped in fear onto Skulduggery as he fell back on the sofa in alarm. She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in his suit, trembling slightly.

"...Val? What's wrong?" Skulduggery said softly to the shaking girl in his arms.

Valkyrie let out an unsteady breath and slowly pulled her arms away from Skulduggery.

"S-sorry, Skul." She took a deep breath. "Storms make me so goddamn jittery..."

Skulduggery looked outside through the window at the rain that was battering the grass on his lawn.

"Val, it's just water, you know that right?"

Valkyrie frowned at him, "Water? Those big, electric bolts that just drop out of the clouds are just water? Are you sure?" She asked sarcastically.

"Now come on, Valkyrie. Tell me the real reason why you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid!" She protested, "It's just..." she folded her arms. "I'm not afraid, okay? I'm not a coward."

Skulduggery spoke softly, "I know you're not a coward, Valkyrie. You're the bravest girl I've ever met. But sometimes it's okay for even the brave ones to have fears. I like to consider myself as brave, but I still have many fears."

Valkyrie frowned and looked at her hands. "But your fears aren't...stupid."

"Oh, Valkyrie, you don't know a thing about what I fear...you wouldn't imagine the things I worry about every day."

Valkyrie looked up at him, "What do you mean?" she asked, eager to pull the subject away from her fears.

Skulduggery tilted his head at her, "Well you see, my dear, my fears mostly revolve around you."

Valkyrie's eyebrows raised in confusion as she absorbed this information.

"What are you talking about Skulduggery?" she asked, perplexed. "Do I...do I scare you?" She smirked uncertainly.

Skulduggery let out a soft laugh. "No, Valkyrie, you don't scare me. However the things you do, do scare me."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes, her mind already off the thought of the thunderstorm raging outside. "Oh please, don't tell me this is going to be another lecture. All the 'You need to take responsibility in your actions' junk I get from every single adult I come across." she waved a hand at Skul. "I've heard it all before, you really don't need to be scared, Skul."

Skulduggery's gaze softened as he watched Valkyrie's reaction to what he'd told her. Even though she'd replied casually and jokingly, he knew that she had understood what he had meant. She was very precious, and was already in enough danger after the events of the past years. She needed to tread carefully in this dark world of magic and sorcerers, there were many out there who would love Valkyrie dead.

Skulduggery shuddered. He clenched his fists and unconsciously looked out the window, as if an assassin was right at the front door, planning to murder Valkyrie right there and then. He stood up and cleared his non-existent throat. If anything were to ever happen to Valkyrie, he would never forgive himself for not being there in time.

"Skulduggery? Where are you going?" Valkyrie asked, concerned.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice before he realised he hadn't replied to what she had last said. He cleared his throat again and sat back down again and turned to Valkyrie.

"I..I know you're a responsible young woman, and I'm not undermining the fact that you can look after yourself, but..." he let out a worried sigh, trying to stress the situation while still acknowledging the fact that Valkyrie was now a strong, independent woman, and no longer a small, twelve year old girl.

Valkyrie thought about sending a witty remark about not being a child anymore to Skulduggery's way, but then thought against it when she noticed how much the tilt of his head gave away how disquieted he was. Skulduggery was rarely ever worried, and when he was, he made sure to never reveal it to Valkyrie. The last thing he wanted was a beautiful young woman like her worrying about an old man's problems like his own.

He mentally smirked at that. He may have been over 400 years old, but for some reason he felt much, much younger when he was around Valkyrie. He felt as if he was in his thirties, or even late twenties. He sometimes even felt the same age as Val when he was with her. But reality came crashing down with a brutal force, as he was always reminded in the end that he was in fact a 400 year old skeleton, which, must to his dismay, not a lot of 21 year old women fancy.

Excluding Valkyrie, of course. But he didn't know that.

Valkyrie's concern grew as she waved a hand in his face, trying to snap him out of the deep thought he was engulfed in. "Skul, I'm really hungry. Storms always make me anxious; not worried, mind you. And when I get anxious I get hungry. D'you have any food stored in your magic little cupboards?"

"Sure, what would you like to eat? Er, I don't really have much variety at the moment...Maybe I should go out and buy something? Do you want anything in particular?" Skulduggery asked.

Valkyrie thought for a moment. "Mm...I'm craving Chinese right now, think you can buy some for me?"

"Alright, I'll be right back. Look after yourself while I'm gone, I won't be too long." He grabbed the keys to the Bentley and placed his hat on his skull, hesitant about leaving Valkyrie alone, but thankful for some time to think about the dilemma between them. The storm may have taken Valkyrie's mind off of their little "routine", but it had been bothering him ever since the last time they had danced.


	6. Unpredictable Weather (part 2)

p class="p1"span class="s1""Alright, I'll be right back. Look after yourself while I'm gone, I won't be too long." He grabbed the keys to the Bentley and placed his hat on his skull, hesitant about leaving Valkyrie alone, but desperately needing some time to think about the dilemma between them. The storm may have taken Valkyrie's mind off of their little "routine", but it had been bothering him ever since the first time they had danced. span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Skulduggery sighed as he pulled the steering wheel, the Bentley's wheels gliding easily but steadily on the slick class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The rain pattered on the roof of the car in time with his thoughts, an unending stream revolving around one person; class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"His mind drifted back to the last time he had danced with her, and like the rain hitting the Bentley, the realisation of the words he had sung so genuinely to her hit him just like that./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Lucky I'm love with my best friend."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Skulduggery suddenly brought his foot down on the brakes in alarm, dangerously jerking the car to a halt. He sat rigid in his seat, the impact of the words that he had sang to Valkyrie finally hitting him./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanDid she figure it out? Had she already realised that, when he sang those eight words to her, he had meant exactly that? That he was, in fact, in love with his best friend? Or had she been like him and only realised long after he had confessed to her?/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Skulduggery desperately hoped that it was neither of the options that he had just came up with, that hopefully Val hadn't noticed the genuinity in his voice as he sang the song that perfectly captured his feelings for his partner./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Skulduggery shook his head, he needed to get these thoughts out of his head. Even if Val had realised, there was no chance that she would even think deep into it. The most that she would assume was that he had known the song and was just singing along like she was./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He rested his skull on the cold window, feeling a wave of relief roll over him, which was then accompanied by a wave of disappointment, embarrassed to admit the fact that he had secretly wanted her to realise that he had meant it, and wanted her to feel the same class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He laughed emptily at the absurdity of his impossible hopes, at his stupidity for falling for the only person who had stayed by his side for all those years, who might just leave him if they knew how he truly felt about them./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He sighed as he turned into a parking spot in front of the Chinese restaurant. He placed his hat on his head and tapped his collarbones and his façade flowed over his skull. He opened the car door and stepped out of the car into the rain, taking his time as he walked into the fast food restaurant. He discretely dried his suit with the air before walking up and standing behind a middle aged lady and her small daughter standing in class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The chatty six year old suddenly quietened when she noticed the tall figure standing behind her. She stared up at him curiously with her big hazel eyes, and Skulduggery glanced down at her, amused. She had long, dark hair, quite similar to Valkyrie's, and soft looking, pudgy cheeks. She gave him a grin accompanied by a giggle, and he smiled back warmly at her. The middle aged woman looked down at her child, and then at Skulduggery, gave a brisk smile and turned to the register to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The girl continued to gaze at Skulduggery with her inquisitive eyes. Taking interest in his gloves, she waddled over to him and wrapped her fingers around the index finger of his left hand. Skulduggery chuckled softly and wiggled his finger, and the girl looked up and him and giggled once again. The mother grabbed her order and paid, thanking the person at the register. She held the girl's hand, and nodded a smile to Skulduggery, who smiled back./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanAs he walked up to the counter to order, the girl's giggle echoed in his mind, her dark hair and hazel eyes. He thought of Valkyrie, and her beautiful laugh that sounded like music, and her eyes that could envelop him if he wasn't careful./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He gave in his order and walked over to the corner table, sitting down. He gazed out of the window, at the rain that was in no means slowing down. His phone buzzed and he checked it, finding a text from Valkyrie. His heart fluttered as he saw the name pop up on his screen in digital letters, but the fluttering soon changed when he read:/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2a23597477689cfd098592e74709e21a" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1" Skul. Please get here now. Hurry. -Val/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" /p 


	7. Unpredictable Weather (part 3)

He gave in his order and walked over to the corner table, sitting down. He gazed out of the window, at the rain that was in no means slowing down. His phone buzzed and he checked it, finding a text from Valkyrie. His heart fluttered as he saw the name pop up on his screen in digital letters, but the fluttering soon changed when he read:

Skul. Please get here now. Hurry. -Val

The atmosphere around Skulduggery silenced and everything seemed to slow down as he re-read the small text displayed on his screen.

Suddenly things were speeding up again, and Skulduggery was only vaguely aware of the person at the register who was telling him his order was ready, and he was only vaguely aware of the black wisps of hair that belonged to the green eyed girl as she trailed around the corner, clinging to her mother's hand.

His mind snapped back to reality as he realised he was driving, his hand gripping the steering wheel, only just preventing the Bentley from swerving off the road.

The words flashed in his mind; hurry...get here now.

Cars driving down the streets of Dublin honked angrily at the car that was owned by this seemingly reckless driver, but Skulduggery didn't care. Every part of his non-existent brain was screaming for him to calm down, and realise the fact that Val could look after herself, and-

His phone rang, vibrating loudly in the confined space of his car.

He turned the corner, only a few blocks away from the house, and picked up the phone. Without taking his gaze off the road, he answered the call and only heard Valkyrie's soft, trembling voice on the other side.

"Valkyrie," he barked worriedly into the phone, "What's wrong, what's happened? Are you alright?"

"S-Skul...Skul where are you?" she said in a shaky voice. She had been crying.

"Valkyrie, I'm almost there." His tone softened. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

She sniffed. "I-I don't know, but there was this flash, these sparks, I saw them fall out of the sky..."

"Valkyrie? What are you talking about?"

"And then...And then I texted you, because I had no idea what the hell was going on, and then suddenly everything went black and there was this huge bang and- Skul, I'm scared"

"Hey, Val, it's alright. Everything's fine." He said softly into the phone. "I'm almost there, just stay safe until I come, okay? Nothing's happened, it was probably just an electrical issue...Nothing to worry about."

Another sniff, followed by a shaky laugh. "Damn, Skul. I'm, such a coward. Don't you dare tell anyone about this, got it?" A deep, unsteady breath was heard from the phone's speaker, then a sudden sob that had been suppressed escaped through her lips, and distant whimpering echoed through the car from the small device as he pulled into the driveway.

"Oh, Val." He whispered softly. "Val, I'm here," he said, louder this time. He ended the call and shoved the driver's door open and stood out in the rain that was still continuing to pour down.

"I'm here for you, Valkyrie." He said, very, very softly, even though no one was there to hear him.

Skulduggery wrenched the keys out of his pockets and into the door and swung it open, not caring about the rain that was beginning to drip onto his welcome mat. His vision scanned the room until he noticed a small, dark haired figure, similar to the one at the restaurant.

Except that this figure wasn't really small, she was tall, lean and beautiful, in Skulduggery's non-existent eyes.

He hit his skull with his gloved hand, cursing his thoughts that were straying to another land, and focused once again on the girl on the couch, shaking ever so slightly.

He whispered her name softly, only for her to lift her head up to him in response. Her hands darted up to her face to harshly rub away the tears that had flowed down her flushed cheeks, and she sniffed again, only for another sob to escape her tightly pressed together lips.

Skulduggery carefully made his way toward the couch, unfamiliar to this side of Valkyrie, not wanting to upset her even more. He reached her and sat down gently next to her, and she turned to him and flung her arms around him, burying her damp face in his suit. Skulduggery wrapped the crying girl in a gentle embrace, and stroked her hair comfortingly as she quietly wailed in fear of the storm that was raging outside.

"Valkyrie," he whispered softly to her. "Everything is okay, I'm here now, you're safe with me."

"Skul...what happened...? What the hell is going on?" she choked out between sobs.

He hesitated. "A...A power line has fallen in front of our house, Val"

"Wh-What? Are we going to be okay? Oh god, isn't that a fire hazard? Skul, please, I don't want this house to burn down please-"

"Shh, I told you, everything is going to be okay. The house isn't going to burn down, Val." He said, a soft smile on his face. " The power lines are being fixed right now, that's also why the lights went out."

Valkyrie breathed a shaky sigh, of relief, Skulduggery hoped. She looked like she was about to say something, but changed her mind and rested her head on his suit, sinking into his bony embrace. Being a skeleton, Valkyrie would expect Skulduggery's hugs to be very uncomfortable, but she was pleasantly surprised when she fitted perfectly into his embrace.

She laughed again, soft, but genuine this time, "Skul, don't you ever say a word to anyone about me being afraid of storms."

He spoke into her hair, a smile crossing his features. "I wouldn't dream of it, Val."

She closed her eyes and breathed heavily into his suit, finally relaxing within the security of Skulduggery's arms.

"I love you, Skul."

He stiffened.

"I-I..." he looked down at the dozing girl in his arms.

"I love you too, Val." He said very, very softly.


	8. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know 1

The early rays of sunlight were just beginning to leak through the windows and into the house as the echoes of Valkyrie's footsteps broke the silence that surrounded her.

She hummed quietly to herself, casually walking around the house, searching for the skeleton that had invited her over once again. She trailed her fingers on the ancient wallpaper, wondering where the hell Skulduggery had disappeared to.

With her earphones plugged in, she found her way to the kitchen, finding something to eat, trying so hard to find something to fill her time with. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down on the couch, bored out of her mind.

Skulduggery's house was very nice, sure, but he was yet to purchase a wifi router. This was the sole reason why Valkyrie, only very rarely though, declined the offer when he invited her over.

The old, pleasant house was a fantastic place to study in, or even relax after a long day at school. But school had ended for her long ago, and she had found herself at a loss of activities to entertain her.

She sighed with desperation, where was he? Normally both of them would spend the day at his house just talking, it was never boring. But she hadn't seen him since he opened the door for her and let her in.

She yanked one of her earphones out and drew in a breath, prepared to call out for him, when she heard a distant sound, the tinkling of-

A piano.

She pulled the other earphone out, her curiosity piqued. She frowned slightly and listened for another sound, but she heard nothing. She strained her ears and barely caught the soft tune that floated gently towards her.

Skulduggery was playing the piano.

She leaped off the couch, listening hard to hear more of the tune, and when she heard a few more keys, she was directed down a long corridor that she had supposedly overlooked all the times she had been in this house.

Had this corridor been here before? She was sure she would have remembered it, if she had seen it before. She had explored this house countless times before, being fascinated by every nook and cranny in this house that was as old as its owner.

But she was certain that this corridor had never been here before. Normally, when she passed by here, there was a tall, oak bookshelf that stood in this place. But the bookcase was nowhere to be seen, and in its place stood this delightfully gloomy corridor that Skulduggery was possibly within.

His secret haven.

Valkyrie hesitated as she stood in the doorway of the corridor, although this corridor had no actual door. The was a doorframe, however. A faded, wooden doorframe, that hadn't seen the light in years, always hidden behind the enormous bookshelf.

Valkyrie wondered for a moment where that bookcase had actually disappeared to, before she stopped trying to stall it any longer, and made her way into the corridor.

Even if it was his personal haven, he wouldn't mind, right?

The now clear sound of the piano reverberated off the corridors walls as she stepped closer towards the room at the end. She paused outside the doorway, drawing in a breath, standing motionless as the beautiful melody drifted around her.

When she could resist no longer, she stepped into the room, the darkness of the corridor immediately consumed by gentle sunlight. Skulduggery's skull glowed in the dim light of the room, his suit rustling slightly as he continued to play.

She marvelled at Skulduggery's gloved fingers as they danced lightly on top of the white keys in a mesmerising rhythm, producing a beautiful melody. His hands glided along the piano with graceful ease; watching him play felt like a guilty pleasure.

She felt so out of place in this small room with the piano, as if she didn't belong here and was never meant to see what lay out before her. Yet she had never been so mesmerised by anything in her life before.

Valkyrie closed her eyes and inhaled the musty scent of the hidden room, along with the melody from the piano that was floating alongside it.

She wasn't sure whether Skulduggery had sensed her presence, but he had seemed too engrossed with the piano to notice anything, so she brushed it off and dared to take a step closer.

Valkyrie didn't recognise the tune, but she didn't need to. In each note that was being played, she saw a piece of Skulduggery. The emotion from the melody washed over her like tidal waves in the ocean, hitting her harder the more she listened and the closer she walked towards the piano.

Moving from the top of the piano, he switched from the light, tinkling notes, towards the end of the piano, suddenly brining a deep undertone to the song.

The light-hearted high notes had been replaced by deep, heavy low notes, and Valkyrie felt the pain in her chest, the pain that he could only express through a piano.

The piano spoke to her; told her of his family, of his wife, of his child.

He pressed the keys harder as she listened to tales of war, and blood. Skulduggery grimaced against the sound as he released his memories onto the piano, his fingers heavy against the keys.

Valkyrie brought her hands to her chest, squeezing her fingers tight and listened as the piano continued the story.

Skulduggery poured his emotions out onto the piano relentlessly, hitting the keys whose notes hit Valkyrie with equal force.

Then all of a sudden, the song stopped, snapping her out of the trance the piano had enveloped her in. Skulduggery sat motionless at the piano, his arms by his side, the song seeming to have drained him.

Valkyrie also stood a few metres behind him, unmoving and unsure of what to do next.

The rough notes of the song had hit her hard, which was truly not what she had been expecting when she first heard the tune earlier.

She opened her mouth slowly, not sure of what she wanted to say but still wanting to say something.

She heard a slight sigh from Skulduggery and noticed a slight tilt in his head towards her, but he showed no sign that he was aware of her. She watched in confusion as he raised his arms and placed his fingers on the keys once more.

He began to play again, but this time the tune was soft. However, not as soft as when she had first heard him play.

The melody was still grave, continuing from the former tune, but Valkyrie soon realised that they were becoming more sweet, more soft.

She felt Skulduggery relax against the music, and once again the piano told her a story that Skulduggery was never brave enough to speak aloud.

The piano recounted the story of a girl with dark hair and dark eyes. A girl who took the hardships and pain and healed it all. A girl who stepped into the darkness and became the light.

The grave tune flourished into the most beautiful melody Valkyrie had ever heard, and then she saw the emotion laid out before her amongst the keys of the piano.

When Skulduggery had finally finished, his hands fell back to his side once again. The song had ended rather abruptly however, as the story that was being revealed had not ended yet. While the piano uttered its final note, the story was just beginning a new chapter.


	9. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know 2

_**When Skulduggery had finally finished, his hands fell back to his side once again. The song had ended rather abruptly however, as the story that was being revealed had not ended yet. While the piano uttered its final note, the story was just beginning a new chapter.**_

Valkyrie stood unmoving in the gentle sunlight. The vivid images that the piano had revealed were still swimming in her mind.

The soft melody echoed around the room, the images beginning to fade.

The dark hair, dark eyes. The brilliant smile.

It was her.

As the echoes of the piano died, the sound of her rapid heartbeat filled Valkyrie's head. With no more music to drown out the sound, she could truly hear and feel how fast her heart was beating at that moment.

She felt the familiar tingle of magic against her skin, although she wasn't aware of any magic being used. It made her shiver slightly and her fingers flexed unconsciously.

Valkyrie swallowed her bubbling excitement and breathed out a shaky "...Skul?"

Skulduggery's head rose slowly from the piano, and he tilted it slightly to let her know he was listening. "Yes, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face. "Whatever you just did with the piano..." She began.

He turned his head towards her slightly. "Mmm?"

"...Was absolutely amazing" She said with an enthralled voice.

Skulduggery gave a small chuckle and she could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke. "Why thank you, Valkyrie." He paused slightly before continuing. "That, my dear, was magic, as I'm sure you are aware of already." He tilted his head at an angle, predicting Valkyrie's response.

Valkyrie frowned in confusion as she tilted her head, looking slightly skeptical. She finally raised an eyebrow at him accompanied with a questioning look. "Wait, magic? You used magic? I should've expected that. I knew you could play piano, but I knew you weren't _that_ good."

Skulduggery tilted his head at a 'gee, thanks, Val.' angle.

"I've gotta say I've never heard of ..." She shrugged before raising her hands and making air quotations. "...'Piano Magic' before, Skul. Which branch of magic does it stem from? Was that an Adept technique? I don't see how it could be Elemental..." she pondered out loud.

He shook his head, amused. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

She cocked her head, bemused. "Figured what out yet?"

He dipped his head and she could tell he was smiling proudly. He left her question unanswered and just walked slowly over to the piano, running his gloved hand over the keys affectionately. Valkyrie just stood there, her arms folded, waiting patiently for a response that she was sure would never come.

After the longest time, and a few impatient throat clears from Valkyrie, Skulduggery asked her a question.

"Valkyrie, do you remember what happened when you first heard the notes of the piano?"

Valkyrie looked up at him. "Uh, yeah, sure. But you didn't answer my question."

Skulduggery ignored her last statement. "Go on, tell me what happened." He said, already knowing the answer.

Valkyrie sighed and reluctantly recalled the first moment she heard the piano. "Well, I was in the kitchen, making myself a bowl of cereal because who the hell knows why, and wondering 'where the hell has this skeleton gone'-"

Skulduggery ignored her annoyance and prompted her. "Yes, but _when_ did you hear the _piano_?" He questioned.

Valkyrie sighed. "If you'd let me _finish_ , I would have told you that while I was looking for that _damn skeleton_ , I pulled my earphones out to yell for you...and then I heard it, I guess?"

Skulduggery murmured in agreement. "And then? Did you feel, maybe...attracted to it?"

Valkyrie made a face. "Attracted? To a Piano? Oh definitely. That white paint and those smooth curves and edges, mmmm... _totally_ turning me on. Pianos are so _hot._ " She said sarcastically. _Haha, joking about liking an inanimate object, like I'm totally not in love with a goddamn_ _ **skeleton**_ _._ Valkyrie frowned. _But He's not_ _**just**_ _a skeleton, he has feelings and emotions, and a hell of a lot of charm,_ she argued in her head.

Skulduggery snapped his gloved fingers in front of her face. "Val, you're drifting off on me, c'mon. You were attracted, right?" He asked.

She snorted and shrugged. "So hot." She said, rolling her eyes.

Skulduggery inclined his head at an angle that showed he was still slightly amused by her, but also one more sarcastic comment away from gathering the moisture in the air and dumping it onto her.

He took a nonexistent breath and continued. "So you hear the piano, the sound drags you in, then what?"

Valkyrie groaned. "Just tell me what the piano does and I won't bother you while you're playing again, please."

Skulduggery chuckled. "If you want answers you're going to have to give me some first."

Although he had no facial features, Valkyrie could tell he was smirking.

Valkyrie sighed, giving in. "Alright fine. So I'm making cereal, I hear the piano, I go to investigate."

Skulduggery motioned for her to continue, not wanting to distract her from telling the story (and because he didn't want her short attention span to focus on anything else at the moment)

Valkyrie continued. "I hear the piano, only very slightly though." She placed her hand on her chin, unconsciously mimicking Skulduggery's posture. Skulduggery metaphorically smiled at this.

"So I walk around your kitchen, and then I hear it again, this...This _tinkling_ sound, coming from somewhere."

She walked past Skulduggery and the piano towards the doorway she came through, and stood at the window, looking at the door. The gentle sunlight shone on her through the window, making her seem as if she was glowing- like an angel. _Well she's nothing less than an angel to you,_ Skulduggery thought as he stood there by the piano, gazing in silent awe at the girl he fell in love with.

She continued to recall what had happened. "I don't know what made me do it, but I turned into the hallway corridor..." She trailed off to glance at him.

Skulduggery said nothing, just nodded with his hand on his chin and his elbow resting on his other arm. His eye sockets were directly facing Valkyrie's face, head tilted slightly with something she couldn't quite figure out. From the looks of it, he was completely enthralled. And she had no clue why.

Valkyrie blinked as her words escaped from her and she stuttered out, "W-well uh, I found th...is corridor- I-I mean I found this _doorway_ that had totally never been there before, and I was pretty damn sure there was a bookcase there before, because I was thinking to myself that I've explored this old house _countless_ times, and..." She tripped over her words, trying to hide her embarrassment from being completely listened to.

Skulduggery laughed softly, whether it was at her or at the words she said, she was unsure of. "Ah, yes. That doorway. I've done an excellent job of hiding it from you, haven't I?" He said. _Too bad the doorway wasn't the only damn thing you were hiding,_ he thought.

Valkyrie replied with a slightly shaky laugh, "You sure have, Skul." _He wasn't the only one hiding something then,_ she thought. _But I guess a secret doorway doesn't really compare much to a crush on your best friend, now does it?_

Skulduggery sensed the tension between them and took the opportunity to finally explain what the piano does. "So, forgetting about the doorway for now. I'm sure you're wondering what on earth caused you to see those images caused by the piano. No, I didn't put drugs in your coffee this morning-"

"Oh, joy." Valkyrie grumbled.

"Instead," He continued, "I technically put drugs in the _piano's_ coffee!" He raised his hands in the air for effect.

Valkyrie peered at him strangely for a moment before muttering something under her breath that sounded like 'maybe you drugged your own damn coffee' before shaking her head. "Okay, you've lost me."

Skulduggery fixed his tie silently. _He does that whenever he's frustrated...whoops._ Valkyrie thought.

"You seem to have a very short attention span today...Maybe I did drug your coffee...hmm..." He said seriously.

Valkyrie blanched when he didn't crack up in laughter. "Wait, what?! Oh god please don't tell me I'm hallucinating because you drugged my coffee."

Skulduggery shrugged nonchalantly and Valkyrie narrowed her eyes. "Why are we even talking about drugging coffees, what's going on?"

"...We may have strayed off track slightly, let me explain. When I said I drugged the piano's coffee, what I _meant_ was that I charmed it. You know, placed a spell on it? All of that 'abra cadabra' jazz."

"How the hell does that have anything to do with coffee at all?!"

"Honestly, I haven't the foggiest idea. It seemed like a clever thing to say at the time."

"I swear to God, Skul-"

"Okay, okay. Let me tell you why this piano does what it does. Before I had this piano, I was cheated on."

Valkyrie's eyes darted towards him and immediately turned protective. "Cheated on? By who?"

"By an old woman who I met during the war."

Valkyrie narrowed her eyes and made a face. "...What? Was it really that hard to find love during the war?"

"Oh trust me, if you were fighting in the war, no one wanted anything to do with you. Basically, they viewed you as if you were on your deathbed."

"But an old woman? I didn't know you were _that_ desperate for love."

"I didn't have any interest in this lady, Valkyrie. I had met my wife later on. I did, however, have a lot of interest in what she was selling."

"And that was?"

"...A suit of armour."

Valkyrie turned apprehensive all of a sudden. "Are you talking about..." her voice softened, "...Vile's armour?"

Skulduggery nodded once. "Our side was losing, and I figured we needed a big weapon, and we needed it fast. So I went searching, and found this old lady who was selling a suit of armour that was supposedly infused with the darkest Necromancy magic."

Valkyrie sighed gravely, knowing what he was about to tell her.

"Unfortunately, she scammed me and gave me a box that supposedly contained the armour, after I handed her thousands of dollars. I gave her the money, opened the box, and before I could even register what was inside, she had vanished and left me with a wooden charm in the shape of a small frog."

"Skul, we've all done things we r- wait, what? Oh my god, are you kidding me? And I thought you were smart, honestly. Tricked by an old woman. Typical."

Skulduggery chuckled darkly. "I still got that armour, don't you worry. But I'd rather not elaborate on how I acquired it. " This shut Valkyrie up.

"Anyway, after the war was over, I joined the Sanctuary, as you know. And one day, I had stumbled upon the charm that I had stowed away all those years ago. I realised then that I actually had no clue what it was for, and took it to Kenspeckle for examination. After a lot of mocking laughter from him after I explained how I got the charm, he informed me that the charm could cause reality dissociation when used correctly."

This caught Valkyrie's attention. "Reality dissociation? Is that what happened to me earlier? When I was hallucinating or something?"

Skulduggery nodded. "That's basically what dissociation is, hallucinating or seeing things that aren't really there. In this case, the charm allowed the holder to control what others saw-"

"Skul that's messed up. What did you use it for? Nasty things, probably."

"You didn't let me finish. Kenspeckle also told me that the charm could work only if it was associated with some sort of music. Hence, the piano."

Valkyrie took a few moments to think about it. "That's awesome. So if I play the piano, I can make you see stuff?"

"Sure you can. But the holder still needs to know how to play the instrument they're using. Do you know how to play the piano?"

Valkyrie grinned and waved a hand at him. "Suuuure I can. I mean, how hard can it be?"

She sat excitedly at the piano, taking the small frog charm in her hand. "Hmm, you kinda look like a Charles. Can I call you Charles, Mr Frog?" She turned to Skulduggery, "Can I call him Charles, please?"

Skulduggery looked at her for a good ten seconds before slowly nodding.

Valkyrie smiled and hummed softly before asking, "So I just play? And Mister Froggy here'll do the rest?"

"Yes, but you'll need to have an image in mind of what you want the charm to allow me to see. You must be very careful to only think of the things you want me to see, alright?"

Valkyrie nodded, took a deep breath, and turned back towards the piano and began to play.


	10. The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know 3

Valkyrie's fingers hovered over the keys of the piano, flexing slightly. She pressed one finger down lightly on a single key, and then another one at random. Skulduggery scoffed. She raised an eyebrow at him, placed both hands on the piano and began to play.

"Oh come on, don't look so damn surprised." Valkyrie huffed with a smile.

Skulduggery was speechless. "I...I never would have imagined..."

"What? That I could play piano? Please, what d'you think I was doing for the first 12 years of my life before I met you? Sitting around waiting for you to smash through my uncle's house window? I had a normal life, in case you'd forgotten."

"Of course, of course. Piano lessons, the lifestyle of most children these days."

"...You say that like it's a bad thing."

Skulduggery ignored her. "How long were you learning for?"

"Oh, just a few years. But I guess I'm a pretty quick learner." Valkyrie winked.

"Mmm, I'm sure I would know all about that."

Valkyrie squinted. "...Pardon-?" She began.

"-Say, Val," Skulduggery cut her off.

She glared at him. "...What?"

"How would you like it if..." He rested his skull on his hand in thought. "I gave you piano lessons?"

Valkyrie pretended to consider it, then grinned. "You give me piano lessons in return for dancing lessons? Deal."

"Ah, so the dancing lessons haven't been forgotten about?"

"Unfortunately for you, nope."

"I see. Well, I'll be looking forward to both of these lessons nonetheless."

"Me too Skul, me too."

There was a sort of awkward silence when they both met eyes and immediately looked away- Valkyrie looked at the piano and Skulduggery rested his gaze on her.

"Okay, you've told me Mr. Froggy's backstory," She said, trying determinedly to keep her eyes on the piano. "and since I'll soon be playing it regularly, I want to know about this beautiful piano here." Val looked back at Skulduggery, who in turn switched his gaze to the piano before she could catch him watching her. She walked up to him standing by the piano and trailed her hand along the painted wood.

He watched her carefully, forcing himself to try and focus on the piano, and not how close to him she suddenly was. He could feel her warmth from standing in the sunlight pouring through the window, and he suddenly longed to hold her, any part of her. He frustratedly settled on resting his hands on her shoulder and placing his chin on them in a nonchalant way, hoping she wouldn't find this gesture strange. Thankfully, if she did, she didn't show it.

"I found her, a long time after the war, maybe a few decades? Can't for the love of my un-dead life remember where, but I found her when she was counting her last days." He said, with an air of nostalgia.

Valkyrie nodded and "Mhmm"ed appreciatively, and Skulduggery could feel her hair brush against his hand.

He continued, not looking up from the piano. "She was rather sad looking, just resting outside an old shop, reminiscing of the days she had been used to play wonderful music. She appealed to me immediately, and until today I still cannot fathom why. I just knew that there was something...magical- if I may- about her."

Valkyrie frowned ever so slightly. He spoke about the piano with such an air that made her think he was telling the backstory of how he met someone he had once been in love with. Valkyrie shrugged to herself, she didn't get why he was fawning over an instrument so much. It was just some piano, right? Like, who cares? It can project holograms in your brain, so what? Big deal. And the piano didn't even do the magic, Charles the Frog did...geez.

She glanced at the dull, white piano and narrowed her eyes. She glared at it for a little, until she felt satisfied. The piano stood there unmoving- Valkyrie gave a small nod of triumph.

She listened half-heartedly as he went into great detail about how the piano caught his eye one gloomy afternoon, after he had a fight with his wife. He had taken a walk in the village, not wanting to anger her any more, and needing to cool down, himself. He had walked aimlessly through the streets, his mind replaying the argument over and over again.

He told Valkyrie that he couldn't even remember what they were arguing about, that it had all vanished from his mind when he saw the piano. He didn't know why he had been so drawn to it, or why he had longed to play it when he had never touched a piano in his life before.

"There was just...this aura of beauty surrounding it, Valkyrie. It was...it was spectacular." He said in a voice that was barely over a whisper, as if his complement was not directed towards a piano.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

She listened with slight bitterness as he retold tales of how he fell in love with the piano. How he fell in love with it the moment he saw it, how it was love at first sight, blah blah blah.

Valkyrie stopped suddenly. Did she really just say "blah blah blah" in her head? She rubbed her face with her hand as her eyes widened in disbelief. Valkyrie didn't want to admit it, she didn't even want to believe it herself. Was she actually jealous of a piano?

She shook her head in bewilderment. She didn't think it was actually possible for someone to be jealous of an inanimate object. But she was so head over heels for this Skeleton that she was basically jealous of any other girl he spoke about, although she would never, ever admit that out loud. She realised all at once how truly in love she was with Skulduggery. This is bad. Real bad. She thought.

Skulduggery's velvet voice pulled her out of her imagination.

"Do you want to know what I named her?" He asked.

Valkyrie sighed out a distracted "Sure..."

"I named her...Grace Kelly"

Valkyrie whipped her head around at him. "Oh for god's sake-"

He raised his hands up defence. "I'm joking, I'm joking! I didn't name her Grace...Although Grace is a lovely name, and it is a lovely piano..."

Valkyrie breathed out an irritated sigh.

Skulduggery turned his head affectionately towards her. "It is a lovely piano, so I named it after a lovely girl."

Valkyrie muttered under her breath.

He paused slightly, then told her, "I named her Valkyrie."


	11. Nosebleeds and Daisy Chains (part 1)

Spring was Skulduggery's favourite time of year.

This was something he would never openly admit, as he figured that the knowledge of his favourite season would slightly diminish the terrifying and brutal reputation that he had oh so carefully built up for himself. His ego couldn't possibly withstand a hit like that, he was sure, so he happily decided to keep it a secret.

That is, until Valkyrie came along.

Now Skulduggery had faced and conducted countless amounts of interrogations before in his life, being a detective as well as a regular-law-breaker, and, alarmingly, sometimes both at once. He had withstood the harshest and most intense questionings, but his passive skull had never once betrayed anything, leaving the professionals to deem it impossible to ever guess what he was thinking when he didn't want you to know.

But Valkyrie was something else entirely. She never used professional techniques; torture, threats, bribery, et cetera. No, her approach to getting Skulduggery to spill was far more diabolical. And the worst part was, she never even realised she was doing it. The moment she ever brought up a conversation topic and asked for Skulduggery's opinion or experiences, the words seemed to fall through right between his teeth and tumble in a messy but steady stream into Valkyrie's listening ears.

He swore it was something working behind her eyes, those dark-as-night eyes, that made him so vulnerable. Or perhaps it was her hands, slightly rough and bruised from last week's case, but looking so delicate in the soft spring light. Maybe her smile was what really hypnotised him. The way her lips would slowly stretch into a small curve, to a smirk, and then a grin. The way the tip of her tongue always poked out between her teeth when she was thinking. The way her dimples appeared under her rosy cheeks whenever she laughed too hard. The way her smile seemed to spread all the way to her dark eyes and her button nose and her-

She punched him hard in the shoulder. "Hey, Skul, you're zoning out on me again. What's gotten into you? Are the flowers giving you hay fever or something?" Valkyrie snickered and settled down next to him on the ancient swing sitting on his front porch.

"Who knows, Valkyrie, perhaps I'm allergic to _you_ ," he said, edging away from her in mock fear to hide the fact that he was startled by her sudden closeness.

"Naw, please, if you were allergic to me, you would've died a long time ag-" she stopped and realised what she said, eyes widening and hands flying towards her face as she cracked up in laughter. Skulduggery sighed.

"Like I haven't heard that one a million times before..." he muttered.

"I'm just kidding," She said, punching his arm again. Skulduggery winced. _For a girl who trains with professional assassins every other day, she sure does forget how strong she is sometimes..._

"Although you better not be allergic to me, Skul. That would probably be a little bit of a hindrance in our line of work, y'know," she said, tilting her head.

"Honestly, I see it as an advantage rather than a hindrance..." Skulduggery murmured, before tilting his head back to rest on the back of the swing as his thoughts slowly drifted into the sweet, spring evening darkness. He could hear Valkyrie's voice faintly- an offended "Excuse me?"- which he ignored, and instead focused on the faraway sounds of birds settling in for the night.

Their soft calls and light flutter of their wings was his favourite thing about spring, Skulduggery concluded. Ever since he was a child, considering the fact that he was over four hundred years old, he had been fascinated about birds. Their elegance and effortless beauty whenever they're in the air as well as the intelligence and ability to build such architectural nests had always enthralled him, even now. Whenever his adventures took him to places that were surrounded by trees, the first thing he would always look for was the intricate structure of a bird's nest. But, if he was being completely honest with himself, a nest was virtually just a handful of twigs place together by the instinct of a bird. What Skulduggery truly found interest in was how these twigs collected from opposite corners of the bird's world could be spun into a home.

No, the real reason why Skulduggery loved spring, why he loved birds, why he loved nests, was because they all symbolised one thing; a home. One unfortunate truth that Skulduggery himself tended to- or liked to- forget about, is the fact that he himself did not have a home. Somehow he had managed to skip over this little fact for the majority of his life, as his adventures took him around the globe, always moving, always chasing one thing or another. Never had he asked himself, "Where do I go when this is over?", and never had he considered "Who do I have left when everything is gone?". It was only recently that he had come to terms with this little crisis, and it just so happened to be at the same time that a dark haired girl crash landed into his dusty life.

And the most tragic part about it was that this girl, this girl who had her whole life ahead of her, who was surrounded by friends and family that loved her- who was his best friend- was the closest thing to home that this dead man had left on this lonely earth. She was the only person that would remember him once he was gone, and the only person to possess the one piece of him that he had lost many centuries ago: his heart.

He sometimes laughed at the cheesiness of it all, but it was a bitter sort of laugh, one that came with the winter winds that the flowers were too afraid to bloom into. A form of hopeless optimism that accompanies the meaningless willpower directed into fighting a battle that's already been lost.

No, he knew now, why it was so easy for him to spill everything he wanted to, and didn't want to, to her. It was the way she gazed straight into his eye sockets whenever she spoke to him. No one really ever wanted to look him in the eye for long, which he could sort of understand, so why was this girl, whom he had only known for a fraction of his lifetime, so unafraid of him? What was it what made others' heads turn away the same thing that made her only stare deeper?

It wasn't Valkyrie's involuntarily doing that made him spill everything to her, it was himself. The one girl who was never afraid of him, who had never betrayed him, who had risked her _life_ for him, he wanted her all to himself. He wanted to tell her everything, wanted to let her know every single piece of him, and he wanted her to do the same. How selfish.

A tickling sensation caused the skeleton to slowly be dragged back into the present, and he jerked his head sharply to the side just as Valkyrie was placing another flower into his right eye socket. She jumped back in alarm and nearly fell off the swing, but Skulduggery's reflexes managed to catch the flowers that flew up into the air before she fell straight on her ass onto his wooden front porch.

"My, my, Valkyrie. I had only planted these last week, and you _picked_ them?" He said, immediately pushing his darker thoughts away and frantically hoping she wasn't going to force him to drag them back again. "Do you know how hard it was to plant these flowers without getting dirt on my gloves?" He complained, not paying the slightest bit of attention to the seething girl splayed out on the ground below him.

"No, _Skulduggery_ , I don't know how hard it was, nor do I care," She said slowly through gritted teeth, "But what _you_ should care about, however, is the fact that you caught a bunch of _flowers_ instead of-"

"You know, these flowers are very rare, I had to go through great lengths to find them. Don't you think they match the delightful shade of black that I chose for this house? It compliments it, see? And look what you've done, you've gone and ripped them out of the ground. I bet you didn't think of my feelings, or my brick walls, now did you?" He sulked.

"Well you didn't think of _my_ feelings when you zoned me out and then shoved me off the bloody-"

"These flowers that you oh-so-lovingly plucked from my garden and delicately placed into my _skull,_ " he cut her off again, "Were very important to me..." He said sullenly, "But of course, all you care about is the fact that you're on the floor, and I'm on the swing. It doesn't matter much to me, but to you it probably symbolises superiority or something. So, therefore, it somehow makes me better than you." He crossed his arms and sat back triumphantly, hoping that he had successfully distracted her, and waited for the onslaught that he was sure was about to hit him any moment now. He thought of how Valkyrie would punch him, possibly tackle him off the swing, perhaps even take his hat and stand on it. But Valkyrie wasn't that angry, was she? Skulduggery really, truly hoped not.

Instead, Valkyrie slowly picked herself off the floor, carefully took the flowers from his hands and in one single moment she was straddling his lap, her arms draped around his shoulders.

Skulduggery stiffened. _What the hell just happened?_

"Of course you are, Skulduggery, _dear_ ," She crooned sweetly, "You know I would never question that," she traced her fingers lightly along the side of his jaw.

"What, may I ask, do you think you are doing?" He asked, very, very slowly.

Her fingers reached his chin and she tilted his head up gently. "I'm letting you know that I know my place, Skulduggery," she looked into his expressionless eye sockets. "You will always be my superior, " she hesitated, "...Sir," she added, and Skulduggery's jaw slackened weakly.

Valkyrie then took this moment to shove the flowers she had been keeping in her other hand into his mouth, and immediately bolted off the swing into the house, laughing madly.

Skulduggery sat there, unmoving for a few, dumfounded, seconds, before a tsunami of embarrassment, relief and puzzlement knocked his mind over and he slumped back onto the swing. "That girl is going to be the second- no, third- death of me..." He muttered, before standing up and taking those goddamn flowers out of his mouth, calmly brushing his suit clean, and sprinting into the house after her. She wouldn't get away with what she just did, even _if_ he had enjoyed every single moment of it.


End file.
